Shloka 26

Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

तां चाभिजध्निवान्‌ मायां राक्षसस्य दुरात्मन: । संक्रुद्धश्न महावीर्यों राक्षसेन्द्रं नरोत्तम:

Transliteration

tāṁ cābhijaghnivān māyāṁ rākṣasasya durātmanaḥ | saṁkruddhaś ca mahāvīryo rākṣasendraṁ narottamaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: The best of men, mighty in valor and inflamed with righteous anger, struck down that deceitful illusion conjured by the wicked rākṣasa, and then confronted the lord of the rākṣasas.

Word by Word

• ताम्: that (her/it)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अभिजघ्निवान्: having struck / having smitten
• अभिजघ्निवान्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-हन्
• Form: क्तवतु (past active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मायाम्: illusion, magical power
• मायाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• राक्षसस्य: of the demon (rakshasa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• दुरात्मनः: of the evil-souled (one)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• संक्रुद्धः: enraged, highly angered
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सं-क्रुध्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महावीर्यः: of great prowess
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महावीर्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राक्षसेन्द्रम्: the lord of the rakshasas
• राक्षसेन्द्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षसेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नरोत्तमः: the best of men
• नरोत्तमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• नरोत्तम (narottamaḥ—foremost man, the hero being described)
• राक्षस (rākṣasa—demon)
• राक्षसेन्द्र (rākṣasendra—lord of the rākṣasas)
• माया (māyā—illusion)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts adharmic deception (māyā) with dharmic valor: a righteous hero does not succumb to trickery but dispels it through clarity, courage, and disciplined force, directing anger toward protection and justice rather than cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the foremost warrior destroys a rākṣasa’s magical illusion and then turns to engage the rākṣasa-king himself, escalating from overcoming deception to confronting its source.